As things stand in the modern world, the workforce is more centralized than any previous point in history. A report by cencus.gov has revealed that 51.6 percent of the population in the United States works at large enterprises. These conglomerates have a long standing centralized system with massive headquarters and a systematic line of command. The increasing development of the internet and networking technologies has seen a divergence from this system, namely towards freelancing.

While it isn’t a completely decentralized system, freelancing actually manages to complete certain tasks with a higher efficiency than the regular system. The rise of free lancing has been good for the big companies as it allows them to focus on centralizing only key operations in their companies. It saves them a lot of costs. Uber is an excellent example of this system as it has managed to attain significant success while disrupting the industry.

Completely Decentralized Workforce

Blockchain has seen major advances in recent times and decentralized Blockchain networks like Ethereum could possibly be the enablers for freelancing to take the next step. A decentralized workforce would entail a network of workers that will not be managed by any central authority so there’s no chance of failure if it actually happens. It is different from the traditional system of freelancing which involves freelancers submitting the work to employers who will approve of the work before making the payment for it.

Smart Contracts that the Ethereum blockchain network provides could be the key. They can enable the creation of a decentralized workforce that will be self governing as a network. The cryptocurrency world will give employers the option to post tasks and any worker on the network can take it up and complete it. The rest of the network will then verify the completed task and determine whether or not the payment is disbursed. An automated payment system will carry out the payment for the completed task upon its verification.

Blockchain’s Biggest Obstacle

One big challenge that a decentralized workforce network will have is the reviewing of submitted work. Nobody will be willing to put in sincere efforts to review the submitted work for purely altruistic reasons. It is not at all practical. Those who are taking part in this ecosystem should be incentivized for putting in time and effort to review the work and notifying the smart contract whether or not the payment should be disbursed.

And instead of a proof-of-work system, a proof-of-stake method would be the right approach so that the question of honesty on the part of the reviewers doesn’t become a problem. Otherwise the employers’ reputation will be adversely affected by the release of sub-par quality work.

The Future Looks Bright

The popularity of online freelance work continues to boom in this day and age due to the sheer advantages it provides to both the big companies and to the freelancers themselves. The next step for the emerging freelancing industry will eventually be creating a decentralized workforce network. Blockchain technology will see to that.

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